Creating Safe Places - Looks Like Work, Season 3, Ep 3

Written By Chedva Ludmir
Or Alterman Barnea on the Looks Like Work podcast with Chedva Ludmir

What if the rules weren’t made for you—but you showed up anyway?

Not just showed up, but rewrote the script, turned on the lights, lowered the sound, and left the door open?

That’s what Or Alterman-Barnea did. After her son was diagnosed with autism, she realized that most cultural spaces weren’t built for neurodivergent kids—or their families. So she made one that was.

In this conversation, Or shares the origin story of Mekomot Shmurim (Safe Places), an initiative that’s reshaping how children experience theater in Israel. Think relaxed performances, no surprises, shoosh-free zones, and a whole new definition of “inclusive culture.”

But this episode isn’t just about neurodivergence or performance art—it’s about what becomes possible when we stop asking people to adapt and start adapting the world instead.

We talk about:

  • How an autism diagnosis led to a cultural revolution

  • What it means to create spaces where everyone feels welcome

  • The quiet, radical act of turning up the lights

  • The hidden labor parents carry when society says “this isn’t for you”

  • And the deep power of community when the system comes up short

Or asks a deceptively simple, deeply subversive question:
👉 “When was the last time you thought about who makes the decisions for you?”

In a world built on default settings, Or is asking us to interrogate the defaults. To zoom out. To question: who decided the rules of engagement—and who gets to rewrite them?

If you’ve ever felt like an outsider in spaces that should be for everyone—or if you’re building something for people who don’t always get a seat at the table—this conversation will land in your bones.

 

When was the last time you thought about who makes the decisions for you?

 

Resources & Mentions:

Chedva Ludmir
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Reclaiming Sacred Texts - Looks Like Work, Season 3, Ep 4
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When Your Dream No Longer Fits- Looks Like Work, Season 3, Ep 2